Suggestions for someone thinking about maintaining?

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soccerkon26
soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I think I am at the weight I want to be, I just want to gain more muscle and become stronger.

After trying to lose for so long, I feel that maintenance is going to be really weird! Any tips? I heard maintaining is more difficult.

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  • pinkteapot3
    pinkteapot3 Posts: 157 Member
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    At first you'll be scared to eat all of your maintenance calories. It'll seem like you can eat a lot more, and you'll be sure you'll put on weight. My first tip is - don't worry, you won't!

    Keep doing what you've been doing. Log everything, weigh everything, be accurate. If you've lost weight with MFP you'll maintain with MFP. If you're nervous jumping up that many cals, reduce your weight loss goal first. Eg change from "lose 1lb a week" to "lose 1/2lb a week" for a few weeks. That'll give you some extra cals, but not as many as maintenance. That way you can ease into it.

    Personally, I find maintenance easier as I get to eat more! I think some people find it harder because they find it hard to keep the motivation up. When you're on a roll and losing weight you feel good, and there's also an end-point because you have a goal weight in mind. Maintenance is for life, so may feel more like a chore. If you stop logging, it's easy to slip and eat just a bit more and start re-gaining weight.

    I'm about four months into maintenance and still weigh/log everything and weigh myself weekly. I don't worry if I go +/- 2lbs from goal weight as there are always odd water fluctuations. I look at the trend over a few weeks. That's the other tip - don't sweat a 1lb increase as it'll probably be gone again a few days later!
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
    edited August 2015
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    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    I think I am at the weight I want to be, I just want to gain more muscle and become stronger.

    After trying to lose for so long, I feel that maintenance is going to be really weird! Any tips? I heard maintaining is more difficult.
    I lost 100 pounds over 2 years, then went into maintenance which was just another chapter in this journey.
    I weigh in daily and watch for trends where my weight creeps up.
    I eat well, exercise but no longer log foods. After years of logging, eating right just became natural, but that's totally up to you.
    Maintenance is every bit as challenging as losing weight, and I have maintained for 3 years.

    Best of luck to you :)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    if you want to build muscle you'll need to eat in a calorie surplus
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    pinkteapot3 wrote: »
    At first you'll be scared to eat all of your maintenance calories. It'll seem like you can eat a lot more, and you'll be sure you'll put on weight. My first tip is - don't worry, you won't!

    Keep doing what you've been doing. Log everything, weigh everything, be accurate. If you've lost weight with MFP you'll maintain with MFP. If you're nervous jumping up that many cals, reduce your weight loss goal first. Eg change from "lose 1lb a week" to "lose 1/2lb a week" for a few weeks. That'll give you some extra cals, but not as many as maintenance. That way you can ease into it.

    Personally, I find maintenance easier as I get to eat more! I think some people find it harder because they find it hard to keep the motivation up. When you're on a roll and losing weight you feel good, and there's also an end-point because you have a goal weight in mind. Maintenance is for life, so may feel more like a chore. If you stop logging, it's easy to slip and eat just a bit more and start re-gaining weight.

    I'm about four months into maintenance and still weigh/log everything and weigh myself weekly. I don't worry if I go +/- 2lbs from goal weight as there are always odd water fluctuations. I look at the trend over a few weeks. That's the other tip - don't sweat a 1lb increase as it'll probably be gone again a few days later!


    Thank you so much :) My current goal on MFP is .5 lb per week, so I'm even thinking of changing it to maintenance but trying to only eat half of the extra calories! Just to ease into it :)
  • DoreenaV1975
    DoreenaV1975 Posts: 567 Member
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    I feel you!
    I'm 5'1, 109 lbs.
    I am at my goal weight (goal was actually 110lbs)... but trying to lose a couple of "buffer" pounds so I have room to indulge from time to time without going over (or too far over) my goal weight.
    W/ that being said, I am looking at maintenance and I am scared!!!!!
    1. I think I'm going to miss "the high" I get at seeing the scale go down
    2. After reducing calories to lose weight I'm afraid to eat more (I see the tips above and I will follow them)

    To help w/ losing "the high" of the scale going down I'm trying to set new goals to achieve since "losing weight" is no longer it.
    2 new goals so far:
    1. Meeting my macros - never tried that when I was trying to lose weight; it was all about deficit.
    I've done the "meeting macros" thing for the last 3 days and I'm always just a couple of percentages away... so yes it is a challenge!
    2. Strength training - I started lifting weights w/ my husband this past weekend. I am so weak, but I figure we all got to start somewhere and the more I do it the stronger I'll get! Plus the weight lifting will help burn off the last of the stubborn fat that my otherwise lean body needs to lose.

    Good luck and feel free to add me as a friend/message me if you need more friends that are where you are now.
  • pinkteapot3
    pinkteapot3 Posts: 157 Member
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    I might just be weird, but I still get a high from seeing the scale stay the same (and not go up). That's the objective now. :smile:
  • DoreenaV1975
    DoreenaV1975 Posts: 567 Member
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    pinkteapot3 wrote: »
    I might just be weird, but I still get a high from seeing the scale stay the same (and not go up). That's the objective now. :smile:

    Yes, that's a good thing also, but I guess just because I'm used to it going down, it may take some time to get used to. I'm sure eventually that will be a "high" for me too!
  • bmchenry02
    bmchenry02 Posts: 233 Member
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    Don't worry about the scale so much. I watched it for 4 weeks when I first started and at first went up (water retention in my muscles I'm guessing from starting a new program) then it went away and I actually lost 1-2 pounds around 4/5. Now I'm pretty confident my maintenance calories are accurate as the scale doesn't fluctuate that much.

    The hardest change for me from deficit to maintenance (even with an increase in calories) is I really looked forward to a treat meal that allowed for a surplus in calories. Now I have to work them in or just let my perfectionism over calories not bother me once in a while ;)
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    You can do a recomp by eating maintenance calories and lifting progressively. The goal would be to keep your weight stable while burning some fat and gain a bit of muscle (and strength).
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Add calories back slowly, 100 per week. You won't see much of a jump on the scale and you'll ease into maintenance. Have fun! It's so lovely to be able to eat more, and you CAN work on your body composition and building a bit of muscle if you run a recomp properly. I'm doing it now-got frustrated and tried to lose again, went whacko trying to do that and am back at the recomp. It's slow, but fun!
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    I think I am at the weight I want to be, I just want to gain more muscle and become stronger.

    After trying to lose for so long, I feel that maintenance is going to be really weird! Any tips? I heard maintaining is more difficult.

    I've been in maintenance for 2 years. You find your maintenance level calories (where you can eat, and not lose any more weight), and just stick to that. Add 200 calories per day to your calorie goal and see where you end up. If you're still losing after a couple of weeks, add more calories for a couple weeks. Once you're at maintenance, you should be fine. Remember your weight will fluctuate a few pounds here and there based on diet and exercise.

    If you want to gain muscle, you will have to start heavy lifting and eat at a calorie surplus to build that muscle. You can start heavy lifting without the calorie surplus for body recomposition to change your shape and the way your muscles look. I'd recommend that first.

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